Council to sue over Mills building access

    The Washington City Council voted to proceed with litigation against Jeremy Patterson House Moving over access to the Mills Seed Building. Patterson owns the building, which was moved from Seventh Avenue to Iowa Avenue last February. The council voted 4-1 to proceed with litigation. Councilors Mike Roth, Karen Wilson-Johnson, Merlin Hagie and Fred Stark voted yes while Bob Shepherd voted no. Russ Zieglowsky was absent.

    Building and Zoning Official Steve Donnelly contacted employees of Jeremy Patterson House Moving in mid-December about gaining access to the building to inspect it. At that time, Donnelly said he was hopeful that he would be able to enter the building, but that has not yet happened.

    City Administrator David Plyman said in an interview Thursday, ?We have a city code that states you can?t maintain an abandoned building or a dilapidated structure. We?re going to enforce the city code and as part of that, we?re seeking permission from the court to gain access to the property so we can conduct an inspection. The suit is part of what?s required in order to gain a warrant to enter the property.?

    At the council meeting, Shepherd asked City Attorney Craig Arbuckle if the Mills Building could be considered ?abandoned.? Arbuckle said the state of the building satisfies the definition of ?abandoned? in the code.

    Mayor Sandra Johnson remarked that a number of buildings in Washington are abandoned.

    ?Once we pursue action we need to treat all buildings the same,? said Johnson.

    The council also voted to appoint a new park board commissioner: Carol Ray. The council interviewed four people prior to the council meeting. During the meeting, Stark nominated Ray for the position, which the other councilors agreed to unanimously.

    Ray fills the seat formerly held by Fran Stigers, who stepped down last month. Ray?s seat will be up for election in November, and then again six years after that.

    Ray moved to Washington when she was 10 years old and graduated from Washington High School. She taught art in St. Louis for 20 years, and then in St. Paul, Minn. for nine years. She said the reason she wanted to be on the park board was because she wants to maintain the city?s public spaces.

    ?If you don?t have parks where everyone can go, you?re missing something,? said Ray. ?One of the reasons I applied was because I was very impressed by the park board. I thought they were doing a good job, and that it would be fun to work with a group that knows what its doing.?

    The council also heard from Gerald Franzen, who owns the building across from The Journal that was once Carson?s Plumbing. Franzen wants to sell the building to his brother Dennis Franzen. According to Gerald, Dennis wants to open an electrician?s shop in the front third of the building and live in the back part of the building with his wife, Linda. This would violate the city?s ordinance against first-floor dwellings in the business district.

    Wilson-Johnson said she wants to maintain the commercial appearance of the business district but was willing to accommodate the Franzens.

    ?As long as the retail space is maintained, it doesn?t matter to me if the residence is in the back or on the second floor,? said Wilson-Johnson.

For more, see our Jan. 20 print edition.